This copy is for your personal non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies of Toronto Star content for distribution to colleagues, clients or customers, or inquire about permissions/licensing, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com

‘It’s been an extraordinary week’: Layton brought Canada together

By Bruce Campion-SmithOttawa Bureau chief

Sat., Aug. 27, 2011

It was a day of crying and chuckles, warm personal memories and a prod for political action — all just as Jack Layton himself had planned.

A city and nation came together to honour the politician who made his mark for two decades at Toronto City Hall before jumping to federal politics and steering federal New Democrats to historic success in the May 2 election.

Olivia Chow, holding an eagle feather given to her by Assembly of First Nations Chief Shawn Atleo, is comforted by her stepson Mike Layton as Jack Layton's coffin leaves Roy Thomson Hall after a state funeral Saturday. (Ryan Remiorz / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

Layton’s send-off was a state funeral with a common touch, a ceremony that touched on his achievements from Toronto streets to the House of Commons.

His widow, Olivia Chow, sought to bring some comfort to all those mourning his loss.

“Let us not look behind us, let’s look forward, look at what we can accomplish together to make sure Jack’s voice is not silenced. I think that’s a good way to celebrate his life,” she said in a video that highlighted Layton’s political work over the years.

Article Continued Below

A who’s who of Canadian politics came together with members of the public for the service at Roy Thomson Hall to share their grief at Layton’s death on Monday from cancer.

But the true testament to Layton’s populist style came in the hundreds of people who lined up overnight, hoping to secure a seat inside the hall. They came sporting orange T-shirts, roses and memories of a man who helped shape a city and country.

As the funeral proceeded solemnly inside, thousands crowded outside to watch on screens.

All were urged to carry on Layton’s vision of a more inclusive and generous nation, spurred by his final letter to Canadians issued after his death.

That letter is a “manifesto for social democracy,” said Stephen Lewis, who served as UN ambassador and former leader of the Ontario NDP.

Article Continued Below

“If there was one word that might sum up Jack Layton’s unabashed social democratic message, it would be generosity. He wanted, in the simplest and most visceral terms, a more generous Canada,” Lewis said in a powerful eulogy.

“His letter embodies that generosity. . . . He talks of social justice, health care, pensions, no one left behind, seniors, children, climate change, equality and again that defining phrase, ‘a more inclusive and generous Canada,’ ” Lewis said.

“We’re all shaken by grief but I believe we’re slowly being steadied by a new resolve and I see that resolve in words written in chalk and in a fresh determination on people’s faces,” Lewis said, referring to the impromptu chalk tributes sketched out at Nathan Phillips Square.

“A resolve to honour Jack by bringing the politics of respect for all, respect for the Earth and respect for principle and generosity back to life,” Lewis said.

The day started at Toronto City Hall, where members of the public lined up for a last chance to pay tribute to Layton as he lay in state.

People there applauded as the casket was loaded on a hearse. It was taken on a procession through Toronto streets, escorted by a police honour guard, to Roy Thomson Hall.

The afternoon ceremony was billed as a “Celebration of Life,” a tribute to mark Layton’s evolution as political activist from university lecture hall, to council chamber to the House of Commons, where he led federal New Democrats to a historic finish in the May 2 election, winning 103 seats.

Speakers highlighted his work homelessness, gay and lesbian rights, HIV/AIDS, and the White Ribbon campaign to end violence against women

But for Canadians used to the public side of the man they simply knew as “Jack,” son Michael and daughter Sarah offered a moving glimpse of the man they called “Dad.”

Michael recalled how Layton had taken him out on the water to teach him to sail — on a day when there was no wind and what his dad told him that day.

“You can wait forever for perfect conditions . . . or you can make the best of what you’ve got,” Layton said.

“That’s what he did every day of his life. He made the most of each one,” his son said.

Sarah recalled how Layton would never turn away a neighbour or constituent with an idea or a problem but still made time for family.

“He was even more generous with us, with his time, with his attention, with his love.”

His daughter, who is pregnant again, said Layton somehow found time in his schedule to take granddaughter Beatrice on neighbourhood walks and make daily calls to his mother.

“We are proud to have shared our father with you,” she said.

It had been just a month since Layton, who battled prostate cancer last year, publicly revealed he was fighting a second cancer diagnosis. His alarmingly raspy voice and gaunt appearance gave sobering hints of the physical battle he was confronting.

But when he spoke on July 25, Layton insisted that people stay optimistic and vowed he would be back in the Commons when on Sept. 19 it resumed after its summer recess.

But even as he was seeking aggressive treatment, Layton and Chow were also making plans for the worst case. They met several times with officiant Rev. Brent Hawkes and NDP officials to discuss his wishes for a farewell.

Layton picked music — Parachute Club’s “Rise Up” and Van Morrison’s “Into the Mystic” — and the spiritual readings. The hall had special meaning — the Layton family came here every Christmas for a holiday service. And Layton touched on the themes he wanted highlighted in the homily, saying he didn’t want it focused on himself.

Hawkes, who led the service, tearfully recalled how he met with Layton in the days before his death.

“While Jack was very grateful about his life, he was sad he did not have more time — more time to continue a broad-based and inclusive movement toward a better Canada,” Hawkes said, adding his own prod to take up Layton’s political mission.

“We can be a better people. We’ve seen how to try,” he said, gesturing at Layton’s casket on centre stage.

“May we rise to the occasion because the torch is now passed. The job of making the world a better place is up to us,” he said.

Layton was cremated and his ashes will be interred in three spots dear to his heart. Some will be buried with a memorial tree in the cemetery at Wyman United Church in Hudson, Que., where Layton grew up. His grandparents Jack and Constance Steeves are buried there, as well as his father, Robert.

Ashes will also be buried on the Toronto Islands — where Layton married Chow in 1988 — and with a headstone in historic St. James Cemetery on Parliament St.

More from The Star & Partners

LOADING

Copyright owned or licensed by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or distribution of this content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited and/or its licensors. To order copies of Toronto Star articles, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com